Studies toward a sustainable future conducted by international organizations uniformly agree about having to change some of our present consumer behaviors. Regarding food, suggestions include eating locally farmed, less industrialized and renewable food to promote health and circularity, and limiting waste. Jellyfish are frequently sorted and discarded after being caught with fish in fishing nets and gear. In contrast, we propose utilizing this by-catch as food. This review discusses the economic value and sustainability of jellyfish, the technologies used to prepare them for human consumption, their nutritional profile and health impacts and, finally, consumer acceptability and sensory evaluation of jellyfish food products. This discussion is critical for promoting jellyfish as an important aquatic resource to support blue and circular economies.

Frequent use of various food processing chemical agents sometimes causes damage to our bodies by inducing cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and mutagenesis. In Bangladesh, among various chemical agents, formalin, saccharin, and urea are vastly used for processing foodstuffs by industry and local people. This study is focused to assess the toxic effects of formalin, saccharin, and urea on the popularly used eukaryotic test model, Allium cepa L. The assay was carried out by exposing different concentrations of test samples to A. cepa at 24, 48, and 72 h, where distilled water and CuSO₄·5H₂O (0.6 µg/mL) were utilized as the vehicle and positive control, respectively. The root length of the onions was measured in mm, and the results propose that all the chemical agents demonstrated toxicity in onions in a concentration- and exposure-time-dependent manner. The highest root length was examined at the lower concentrations, and with the increase in the concentration of the test sample and exposure time, the RG (root growth) was inhibited due to the deposition of chemicals and hampering of cell division in the root meristematic region of A. cepa. All the chemical agents also revealed a concentration- and time-dependent adaptive effect up to 72 h inspection of 24 h and a depletion of % root growth at 72 h inspection of 48 h. Our study suggests that sufficient precautions should be confirmed during its industrial and traditional usage as a toxicological response to the chemical agents observed in the A. cepa assay.

Food waste is considered to be a social, environmental, administrative, and economic problem. Given the large-scale production and distribution of food, food waste in food services has been widely discussed by experts, professors, and scientists in the field. This systematic review aimed to understand which food service has the highest percentage of plate food waste. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted until January 2024 in ten electronic databases: MEDLINE, Embase, IBECS, BINACIS, BDENF, CUMED, BDNPAR, ARGMSAL, Cochrane Library, Sustainable Development Goals, and the gray literature. The protocol was previously registered with PROSPERO under the code CRD42024501971. Studies that have assessed plate food waste in food services were included. There were no restrictions on language, publication location, or date. The risk of bias analysis was carried out using the JBI instrument. A proportion meta-analysis was carried out using R software (version 4.2.1). This systematic review with meta-analysis showed that the type of distribution and the food service are the factors that have the greatest impact on the percentage and per capita of plate food waste. In the face of increased waste, interventions should be targeted by type and distribution system, diners, and meals in order to lessen the impact of these factors.

The collective meals market generates significant revenue for the world economy. Food services are responsible for consuming large amounts of water and energy, as well as generating a substantial volume of waste, which is often improperly disposed of. Given the unchecked expansion of food services, the lack of proper management of environmental resources can undermine sustainability principles, posing a threat to future generations. This scoping review aimed to synthesize the existing scientific literature on carbon and water footprints in food services, describing the main methods and tools used and what strategies have been proposed to mitigate the high values of these footprints. The search for articles was performed on 6 June 2024 in seven electronic databases, using MeSH Terms and adaptations for each database from database inception. The search for local studies was complemented by a manual search in the list of references of the studies selected to compose this review. It included quantitative studies assessing footprints (water or carbon) in food services and excluded reviews, studies that reported footprints for diets, and protocols. A total of 2642 studies were identified, and among these, 29 were selected for this review. According to the findings, it was observed that meats, especially beef, contribute more to water and carbon footprint compared to other proteins. Mitigation strategies for the water footprint include promoting plant-based diets, menu changes, and awareness.

Bioactive compounds are widely recognized for their ability to enhance health and prevent diseases due to their various biological activities. However, these compounds are very sensitive to environmental factors, which can reduce their solubility, bioavailability, permeability, and stability, necessitating carriers to protect and ensure targeted delivery. To develop an effective delivery system, it is essential to assess the key factors that influence the release behaviour of bioactive compounds. Therefore, the primary aim of this study is to evaluate how the conditions of the release media, the attributes of hydrogels, and the characteristics of the entrapped bioactive compounds regulate the release kinetics of these compounds. Prior to create suitable carriers, it is essential to comprehend the mechanisms of digestion and absorption of these compounds. Consequently, absorption and the factors influencing stability and bioavailability of bioactives were reviewed first. The conditions of release media, especially the pH, ionic characteristics, temperature, and the nature of solvent served as a critical determinant in the release of bioactive substances by affecting the functional groups, electrostatic interactions between carrier and entrapped bioactive compound, dissociation and conformational changes in polymers. The properties of delivery systems can be controlled using polymers, crosslinkers, plasticizers, and specific environmental factors. The application of dual crosslinkers or a combination of physical and chemical crosslinkers enhanced the efficiency of the crosslinking process, subsequently improving the overall release profile of bioactive compounds from the matrices. Therefore, this review explored several options for enhancing the delivery system.

Since ancient times, sturgeon species have been valued for their rich nutritional qualities, which are crucial for human health today. They are linked with gastronomic delicacy and offer economic benefits, especially for the caviar industry. Today aquaculture produces more farmed and hybrid species due to rapidly declining wild sturgeon populations. Sturgeon diversification through processing can yield fingerlings, stocking material, meat or caviar. Because of its variety, sturgeon flesh includes highly digestible proteins, lipids, vitamins and minerals. Consuming sturgeon provides essential fatty acids that play important oxidative and anti-inflammatory roles in human cells. The purpose of this study is to examine the sustainability and economic value of eating sturgeon worldwide, the technology applied in food processing, and the challenges that food quality and authenticity, nutritional content and health effects pose. The issue of counterfeiting high-quality sturgeon products by dishonest means has to be adequately addressed. Digital tools to guarantee authenticity and transparency in the sturgeon value chain should be considered in the future.